“We know the benefits that infrastructure generates in terms of economic activity,” she says. “But public infrastructure also reduces the cost of production in the private sector and increases productivity.”

The Ontario premier’s infrastructure proposal comes in advance of a premiers’ meeting in Ottawa next week.

Wynne recently invited Prime Minister Stephen Harper to attend the meeting after the two met on Jan. 5 for the first time in more than a year.

The Prime Minister’s Office has said Harper won’t attend, saying he meets regularly with the provincial premiers one-on-one.